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The black wax from her six candles begins to drip on the floor at the same time the salt in the shape of a pentagram begins to shake. Rey paused speaking momentarily, suddenly fearful for her security deposit. Who knows what kind of stuff will come along with whatever she was summoning. Howerver, Plutt wouldn’t have given her back the deposit anyway, she reasons. She begins speaking the Latin again, as best as she could.
“huc veni: o domine, ut mihi artis.”
Rey always got top marks in her foreign language studies, managed to traverse Spain and France for a few weeks on her own, even. But Latin was.... outside of her comfort zone. She hopes she wasn’t butchering the pronunciation too bad, or that her demon was at least forgiving in that regard.
“quis ego et suo tempore seruitium faciat mihi dare et ego cupio.”
The shaking salt turned to tremors in her apartment, making everything rattle and move, pictures flying off the wall, chairs moving across the floor. Rey was knocked back by a powerful gust, pushed until her back was against the wall. The air was sucked out of the room and her lungs for a minute, as everything stood in complete silence.
Before Rey, a gust of black rushed passed her and into a could of smoke. It hung in the center of the pentagram, swirling slowly. She held her breath as a thump sounded. Suddenly, the black cloud dissipated, leaving behind a demon.
Well... demon may not have been the most apt of terms.
He was large. At least 6 foot. His shoulders were broad, his pale skin dotted with moles and scars. One such scar ran from his shoulder all the way up his face until it stopped just above his eye. And his eyes; a dark brown, seemingly black, but with a hit of warmth.
He seemed… strikingly human.
Perfect.
The demon appraised Rey just as she appraised him.
“Quare arcessitus?”
His voice boomed in her ears.
“I, um.... I don’t- I can’t speak Latin,” she tells him, voice low. His presence is terrifying, but for some reason, she’s not shaking. Rey keeps herself sort of quiet, just in case.
The demon cocks his head down at her. Then, in perfect English and a more appropriate tone, he asks “Why was I summoned?”
Her mouth is agape as she looks up at him from the floor. Her demon that looks human sounds American. What a weird day.
He doesn’t push her or make her speak or wrap his hand around her throat when she doest answer. The demon, the Lord of Hell, if she read the website correctly, just stares at her. A piece of lush black hair falls into his face, making him look more princely than any cosplayer she’s ever seen. Rey thinks of all the horror movies that got this wrong.
When she suddenly realizes that there is no time to waste gawking at the creature in front of her, Rey hops up, brushing off the salt on her dress.
“I, um, I read something, online, that I could, maybe, summon a demon if I needed help. And if that demon, you, were willing, of course,” Rey stammers out. She pretends to keep brushing the salt off her dress long after it’s all gone, mostly because his stare is so intense.
“And what is it that you desire help with?” He questions.
“Well,” She gestures to herself, in the yellow gown she’d bought just for today. “I have a wedding to attend actually. Two of my best friends, Rose and Finn, and getting married in,” She glances at the clock on her microwave, “About an hour and a half. I had a date for it, but a couple weeks ago he decided to bail, then I got another back up date who I met off tinder, and like, fuck tinder, because that guy decided to ghost me this morning, so I’m left going stag or… you.”
Rey looks up at this demon hopefully, lips clasped together in a tight smile, hoping she doesn’t look too crazy to this somehow American demon. The demon in question now looks confused.
“A wedding?”
She nods.
His eyebrow furrow. “You summoned me, Lord of the Hell, God of the Underworld, Leader of the Knights of Ren, so you could have a date for… a wedding?”
“My best friends wedding, actually. I think that makes a difference.”
The confusion on his face spreads to disbelief. Then a bit of awe. He hugs before speaking again.
“What sort of date would you require?” He finally asks after a minute.
Now, Rey’s confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Male, female? Height preference or nationality, even?” He asks.
“Why would I need that. You’re perfect,” She tells him.
It may be the fact that the Lord of Hell wasn’t used to small apartments that don’t possess central air and was feeling a bit heated for the end of Spring, but Rey would swear that she saw a hint of a blush spread on the tops of his cheeks, all the way to his ears.
“Me?” He asks. She nods. “Going to a human wedding, with… you?” She nods again.
“None of us can really stand organized religion, so the ceremony and reception are at a botanical garden, so no need to worry about pesky church-demon rules. And, I may not look it, but I’m actually a pretty decent dancer! I wouldn’t drag you on the dance floor if you didn’t want but, I can get down. And our friend Maz is catering it and she really does make strong drinks, if you can drink alcohol, so you could spend the whole night buzzed, for free!” Rey tries to talk up all the qualities that had made her other two dates perk up, but this demon does not seem as enthused.
“And, in terms of payment…?” He asks.
“Oh, that… well, I don’t have much in terms of money. My student loans are sort of killing me at the moment. I don’t have a ton of material items worth much, so I don’t think you’d want any of that… um…” She thinks for a second, eyes reaching for something to offer him, until her gaze rests on the tea set she picked up from Goodwill last week.
“I can fix things! If you have antiques or a car or motorbike, I could totally fix it for you! I tinker with things a lot and have gotten pretty good at polishing silver, so I could refurbish things for you?” He glances, tentatively at the tea set, still a bit tarnished.
“Or… If you prefer food, I make amazing Beef Wellington. Like, Michelin star level good. We could have a deal that whenever you want that, just pop right in and I’ll make it! Within reason, of course. I have work from 8 to 7 usually, but any other time, I can do it!”
He bites back a smile, but remains quiet.
“… Does any of that sound… okay?” She questions, voice low.
“I’m sure I can make do with… something,” He tells her.
Rey can’t stop herself from clapping her hands in glee or letting the wide grin overtake her face.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She repeats. Without thinking, Rey strides closer to him, to hug him, but stops just short of touching him.
“Oh, um… Can I… touch you?” She ask, hands still hovering in the air in front of him. Her demon nods. Because she’s been given a minute to think through the situation, Rey decided hugging the Lord of Hell may be a touch inappropriate so she shoves her hand between them to shake his.
When his hand engulfs hers, Rey shivers, and not from the surprisingly cool temperature of his skin.
“I do have one request, before we begin,” As her hands are dropped from his embrace. “Why was it so important that you have a… date for this wedding, that you would summon a demon?” He asks.
Rey bites her lip, contemplating telling him some falsehood about how she already put +1 on the invitation or that Rose wanted an even number of quests, but decides against it. No point in lying to the Lord of Hell once you’ve already summoned him.
“I… wanted someone to go with. I’m on my own more often than not, especially since Finn and Rose got together- and I really am happy for them- but I’ve always been the one who’s alone in a crowd and I didn’t want that for today. I want to share this experience with someone; I don’t want to be lonely today.”
Rey is worried that it sounds pathetic, but her demon gives a sympathetic nod and a knowing look. There’s recognition in his gaze, someone who knows the loneliness that she does.
“You’re not alone,” He tells her.
“Neither are you.”
He smiles, only just, but enough.
“Now then,” She says after a breath. She looks him up and down again, trying not to satre too much at his chiseled abs that are exposed above his seemingly leather pants. “About your clothes. I have an old dress shirt from an old roommate, but I’m not sure if it’ll fit you. There’s a dress shop around the corner from the garden, so we could stop there to get you a dress shirt- my treat, of course- before we-“
Before she can finish telling him his plan, her demon summons the black cloud again, swirling it around himself for a few seconds before it dissipates once again, leaving him in a crisp cream colored suit, and a small yellow flower in his suit pocket. It matches her dress perfectly.
“Oh,” Is all Rey can manage.
“Is this to your liking?” He holds his arms out for her to appraise him.
“You’re beautiful- er, handsome. Very nice looking. Perfect, really. The suit! I mean… yeah-“ She pauses to collect herself and stop the word vomit, “It is very much too my liking.” He’s smirking down at her when Rey finally looks up at him.
“Good,” He says.
“Good,” She repeats. They just look at each other for a minute, almost as if they were a real couple getting ready to go to a wedding together. (So long as Rey didn’t look at the salt on the floor or the black candles that were somehow still burning). But a sudden burst of embarrassment hits Rey when she realizes she’s left something important out.
“Is there, perhaps, another title you go by? Lord of Hell has a nice ring to it, but… it seems a little aggressive for our… situation,” She tells him.
“Some of my minion- employees, I mean, call me Kylo Ren.” She scrunches her nose and shakes her head.
“No offence, but that sounds like a Dungeons and Dragons character.”
“Dungeons and Dragons is one of the few good things mortals have created,” He says, eyes narrowing at her.
“Oh my god, you play Dungeons and Dragons?” She asks with disbelief.
“Never mind that,” he brushes her off, “There is… another name. One I haven’t gone by in while…”
Rey looks at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell her. His eyes search hers for a minute, and he looks a little frightened, but he tells her anyways.
“Ben. Ben Solo.”
Rey gives him the biggest smile she can.
“It’s perfect, Ben.”
The ceremony is beautiful. Rose is an absolute vision in white and Finn is a perfect dapper gentleman waiting for her at the alter. Their vows were beautiful and well thought out, and Rey is filled with so much love for her best friends that a few tears spill over during the exchange.
Before she can bring her hand to blot at her eyes, Ben holds up a handkerchief and does it for her. His touch is tender and gentle and almost makes her cry anew.
There were many things Rey was grateful for at this moment, but above all, was her demon. He was the ideal date, like he was made exclusively to be the doting gentleman that every girl dreams of taking to weddings like this. When they’d arrived at the venue, and Rey’s social anxiety had gotten the better of her, Ben just grabbed her hand, laced their fingers together, and continued walking to their seat. No fanfare or prying, just a loving gesture that Rey had never really been party too.
He hadn’t let go of her hand since he’d grabbed it, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Currently, they stood at the bar, watching Rose and Finn take their first dance as husband and wife. Rey’s hand was still interlocked with is, but she’d now twisted her other arm around his so that she was practically clinging to him. If he minded, Ben didn’t say. He simply made space for her to lean on him and petted the back of her hand with his thumb.
Once the dancing was over and the happy couple could finally beak away for a moment, they both ran directly to Rey. Rose engulfed her in a hug and Finn wrapped his arms around the both of them.
“Rose! Your dress! You look so beautiful!” Rey shouts. “And Finn! You are wearing the hell out of that suit! You both look so perfect!”
Rose and Finn giggle as they back up a bit so they can all speak.
“Ugh, thank you! And, for the record, I will absolutely be borrowing your dress the next time we all go out!” Rose says.
“Are you… ugh, gonna introduce us to your date?” Finn says, nodding to where Ben is quietly observing the group.
“This,” Rey pulls Ben closer to them, “Is Ben.” He shakes their hands as they exchange pleasantries, thanking each other for coming and for being invited, etc.
“Oh.. I was ugh… cleaning my apartment and, um, needed candles and.. salt… I met Ben. So… yeah,” Rey says. Rose and Finn look slightly worried and majorly confused.
“Okay…. what do you do, Ben?” Rose asks him after a moment.
“I’m the Lord of the Dead,” Ben says, without hesitation.
“His SFX studio! He makes costumes and such for “dead” things, like on the Walking Dead or.. apocalypse movies, and such… so they call him the ‘Lord of the Dead’,” Rey attempt to save. She laughs like she’s brushing it off, but her friends don’t seem so convinced.
Lucky for Rey, Poe Dameron decides that it’s the best moment to begin his drunken speech about how much he loves the bride and groom. It is his first of the evening.
Finn and Rose break away from her and Ben to listen to his… speech, so Rey just intertwines herself with Ben once more and is grateful for the dogged bullet.
“You’ve never seen it?”
“Nope.”
“Not even… the first episode?”
He shakes his head.
“… Can you get HBO down… wherever you are?”
“Yes, I just haven’t seen it.”
Rey looks at Ben aghast.
“But… Game of Thrones is right up your alley, considering you… line of work,” She tells him as he takes another sip of whisky.
“My assistant, Hux, talks about it all the time, and I am not interested. Too gory,” he tells her.
“Too gory?”
He nods.
“You’re the Lord of Hell and you don’t like gore?” She asks in disbelief. “But I would imagine you see much worse, much more real things in your day to day!”
Ben scrunches his nose and shakes his head. “I always make sure that they’re…” he gestures vaguely, “… put together before being sent down.” Rey slumps back in her chair as she begins to question all things she’s known to be true. Ben chuckles at her and tightens his hand around hers.
Rey is suddenly pulled out of her existential crisis when the DJ begins to play her favorite wedding song. One that’s been overplayed thousands of times, but that Rey can’t seem to hold a grudge against.
“I love this song,” She whispered, to no one in particular, as she watches couples get up and go to the dance floor. She feels her hand be tugged upwards by Ben, and realizes that he’s stood up and pushed her chair out. He doesn’t say anything, just looks down at her for a moment.
“Are you… asking me to dance?” She questions. This time, there’s no mistaking the blush on the tips of his ears. Ben nods. Without further prompting, Rey shoots up and pulls them out to the dance floor.
He wraps his arms around her in the proper way, holding just above her waist and on her upper back. Rey leans into him, hoping to convey the message that he’s welcome to stray lower, but his hands don’t budge. When they start to move, it’s clear that Ben is… not a dancer. He shuffles his feet, steps on her toes once or twice, and blurts out apologies. When they finally settle into a comfortable rhythm, Rey smiles up at him.
“No underworld ballroom dance lessons?” She teases.
“Sadly no,” He says bashfully.
Rey is remind of earlier in her apartment, when she felt like they were just a regular couple going to a wedding, and she supposes they are, and marvels at how natural it feels.
“Have you ever been summoned to be a date for someone’s wedding before?” She asks Ben, even though she can already guess the answer.
“You would be the first,” He tells here.
“Oh, I’m honored,” Rey feigns shock. Ben chuckles at her. They dance for another minute, bodies swaying in time with the music, light going low. Rey decides to nestle in deeper, and rests her face on the center of his chest. His arms are still staunchly lifted around her for a second, before Ben finally relaxes and drops his arms to cradle the small of her back. She feels his chin rest on the top of her head and a contented sigh leave his chest.
“You know…” Rey starts after a while, “you haven’t told me what you want in return.”
Ben hums and she can feel the reverberations all the way down her spine.
“I wasn’t lying before; I really don’t have much to offer,” She tells him. When Ben doesn’t respond, Rey pulls back to look up at him. She’s met with his warm eyes, staring down at her like she’s the most precious person in all the underworld. He brushes some hair back and places it behind her ear.
“Would you like to know why the Lord of Hell chose to accompany you this evening?” He asks.
“It does seem… rather benign, given your station.”
“When you spoke of being alone with such familiarity, I was… well, you sounded like me,” He tells her. Rey is caught in a trance unable to look anywhere but this beautiful demons sad eyes. “My existence is long and unforgiving; loneliness is a natural part of that. But you? And your… fragile life? It shouldn’t be apart of yours.”
They stand, unmoving, in the center of the dance floor. People sway around them, uncaring that she and Ben are having one of the most intimate conversations of their entire lives in the middle of this wedding.
“I don’t want you to be lonely, no matter how long your life is,” Rey tells him, truthfully. He smiles softly at her.
“You’ve made me feel… very much not lonely,” He says.
“Me too,” She smiles even wider, toothy and lovestruck. His grin gets bigger too, and she sees his eyes flit across her features.
“I know what I want now, in return,” Ben says, clearing his voice. Rey’s face falls. She sense the end of… whatever this is, and it saddens her.
“Oh… what?” She asks.
Ben leans forward slowly, not stopping until their face’s are nearly touching. Rey’s breath hitches and her heart beats wildly in her chest.
“A kiss,” Ben whispers.
Rey presses her lips to his. His mouth is warm and plush. His breath is minty and cool. He kiss her chastely for a minute, savoring the feel of their lips together. Then he devours her. And Rey loves it. It’s all teeth and tongue, swirling together and fining home in each other. There’s something so loving in it though, even through all the roughness. His lips are incessant and she’s eager to meet his kisses.
It isn’t until someone pointedly coughs at them that Rey pulls back from Ben. On instinct, his mouth chases her for a moment, but she hold him back.
“I have more!” She nearly shouts, confusing Ben. “Request, I mean. This is, uh- a very nice payment plan, one that I’ve rather enjoyed quite thoroughly, so if I need to, um ask for, ya know, other stuff so we can continue this… payment, then I can come up with-”
Ben shuts her up by kissing her agin; no request necessary.
The End